Buffalo News

‘Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills outlasted the New York Jets in a highly anticipated AFC East matchup on “Monday Night Football.” Allen returned to form with a highly efficient and smart performance, completing 19 of 25 attempts (76%) for 215 yards with two touchdowns through the air and one rushing touchdown. Allen played an intelligent game, staying in the system with his passing progressions as he was on time and accurate with throws and broke the pocket when he needed to make plays down the field.’

‘The lawsuit, filed in Erie County Supreme Court, claims that Rachel’s entered into a sponsorship agreement with the Bills in 2020, but fell behind on payments for promotional rights and other marketing benefits tied to the team. The Bills are seeking full payment plus attorneys’ fees, costs and interest.’

‘“People are often like, ‘Oh, Bills Mafia, you guys are just crazy,’ ” Gagliano said. “It’s so much more than that. It really is a family … I make entirely way too much food on purpose. My kids are starting to get into it where they go around and grab people and say, ‘Hey, you look hungry. You want something to eat?’”’

‘The Bills, meanwhile, clearly need help at the position. Khalil Shakir has started strong as the team’s primary slot receiver, but the rest of the group – second-round rookie Keon Coleman and veterans Mack Hollins, Curtis Samuel and Marquez Valdes-Scantling – has struggled to create separation for quarterback Josh Allen. To make room for Cooper on the 53-man roster, the team released Valdes-Scantling, who had just two catches for 26 yards in the first five games and was held without a target against the Jets on Monday.’

‘According to research from The Buffalo News, since the beginning of the 2020 season, only three such games have had at least 22 combined penalties, with 11 on each team and at least 204 lost yards. This was only the second time it’s happened in a game involving the Jets, joining an Oct. 6, 1985, win over the Bengals. It was the sixth time it’s happened in Bills franchise history, the most recent having come in an Oct. 4, 2015, loss to the Giants.’

‘Rousseau led the defensive ends with 47 snaps (75%), followed by Smoot, who got the start and played 43 snaps (68%). Smoot got the start over Epenesa, who had started the first five games of the season. Epenesa ended up playing 35 snaps against the Jets (56%).’

‘Bills offensive coordinator Joe Brady mixed up his personnel groups more than any game so far this season, using eight different combinations, not counting the kneel-downs at the end of the game. The run game when the Bills spread out the Jets’ defense with three wide receivers (11 personnel) was especially good. The Bills rushed 11 times for 65 yards, a 5.9-yard average. And nine of the 11 runs were successful, meaning the gained the minimum desired yardage depending on the down.’

‘Quarterback (5.0). The bad trends from the previous two games were reversed. The Jets blitzed Allen 13 times in 36 dropbacks, according to Buffalo News charting. But he kept the chains moving, completing 6 of 10 passes for 73 yards versus blitzes, plus a defensive pass interference play. Allen also was great under pressure, including on the 42-yard pass to Ray Davis and the 12-yard TD pass to Dawson Knox.’

‘Former NBA stars Vince Carter and Tracy McGrady and former U.S. Soccer star Jozy Altidore were all in attendance at Highmark Stadium when the Buffalo Bills played a Monday night home game last month.’

‘When they weren’t refereeing whether officials got the calls right or finding humor in weird plays, Buck and Aikman were at their best addressing key plays in the game.’

‘Rookie Ray Davis played starring role against the Jets (2-4), piling up a team-leading 97 yards rushing and 55 yards receiving. His 152 yards from scrimmage are the most by a Bills rookie since Sammy Watkins had 157 against the Jets on Oct. 26, 2014, and the most by a Bills rookie running back since Marshawn Lynch had 160 on Nov. 4, 2007, against Cincinnati.’

‘He was urgently conservative. He was safely efficient. He was wisely aggressive.’

‘“We missed them last week,” McDermott said. “Good to have both back, they made some big plays for us. And we’ve got some young guys out there playing, and those two are some of our veteran players. And you can tell in the week of practice, you could tell there was a difference in just the communication and the speed at which we were playing on defense.”’

‘“TB kind of told me that last year – ‘My first year, I didn’t really know what was going on either,’” Williams said. “Once he told me that, I understood what was expected out of me – just to learn every day. I took the offseason to learn a lot. They let me keep my iPad, so I studied all offseason, studied all summer. It’s all starting to click now, for sure.”’

1 Did the Bills deserve to win this game? you bet. It would have been a shame had they lost.’